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Watershed committee to meet with Sen. Ropes and Rep. Davids
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By Craig Moorhead
Special for the Argus
Members of the Bee Creek and Duck Creek watershed committee met May 20 in Spring Grove. They discussed flood control, water quality, and erosion control. The main news, however, was that the fledgling group will be able to present their views, concerns, and wishes to state lawmakers next month.
The committee, consisting of Wilmington Township residents and landowners, began meeting less than a year ago. Landowner Roger Stenhoff contacted Root River Soil and Water Conservation District Manager Ralph Tuck after last June’s flooding to see if anything could be done to avoid a repeat of that event.
Tuck helped Stenhoff get the ball rolling, and in July the Wilmington Township watershed initiative was launched. The group has continued to meet ever since. With help from many local and state agencies, they have worked to develop an action plan to remedy local watershed problems.
One of the main goals is to reduce the peak flows seen during flash floods by 50 percent. Wilmington Township alone is said to have seen at least $220,000 in damages from last June’s flash flood. Slowing runoff can be done with various measures, including retention ponds.
Another challenge is the karst topography found in the western part of Houston County. The limestone of the area dissolves as acidic groundwater seeps through, creating voids. Some of these grow into caves, and some collapse, forming sinkholes. Karst topography can allow pollutants to flow directly into wells. For the safety of drinking water supplies, and for safety reasons in general, sinkholes are often sealed up.
Committee member Dan Griffin saw a 15-feet deep, 20-feet wide sinkhole appear in his corn field after last June’s rain event. Farmers driving machinery have been known to fall into sinkholes when the ground literally gave way beneath them.
In March the group elected a steering committee, and meetings are now held on a monthly basis. Stenhoff serves as chairman. The watershed committee has had great success in getting local landowners to participate. A mailing earlier this year was responded to by about half the landowners in the 12,980 acre watershed.
At Wednesday’s meeting the steering committee voted to re-send the questionnaires to 20 landowners who haven’t yet responded. “We could get a fair number back,” Stenhoff said.
Government funding for push-up ponds was discussed at the meeting. Currently, government funding (if approved) helps to pay for one of these small retention ponds per landowner per year. Anything more would be paid for by the landowner alone. Members questioned if this was a good policy, since hauling in the equipment can be costly. Once on site, an operator could quickly do several push-up ponds before leaving, resulting in greater efficiency.
The Houston County Surveyor’s Office is locating the ponds within the watershed this summer, Stenhoff said. That information, along with a hydrology study that is now underway, should help to identify needed improvements.
Stenhoff said that the group’s next meeting will be an important one. It is tentatively scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. on June 3 in the commissioner’s room at the county court house. State Rep. Greg Davids and State Senator Sharon Ropes are scheduled to attend. He said that Tuck is arranging a tour of the watershed, which will show both storm damages and practices that help to prevent them.
“And then,” Stenhoff continued, “we’re going to lobby them for assistance. The more of us that can show up, the better.”
For those interested in attending the meeting, Stenhoff can be contacted at (507) 498-5425. As a group consisting entirely of farmers, landowners, and residents, the Bee and Duck Creek watershed committee may be a true grass-roots movement. According to some, grass roots are just what is needed to hold our soils in place when floods come again.
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